Growing up, Cristina Martinez witnessed her mom’s financial struggle and her resilience every day. Martinez’ mom did not graduate from high school, and yet, as a single mother with three children, she had to find a way to provide for them. “She worked as a custodian for many years to be able to provide,” Martinez said. In January 2020, Martinez, a resident of Pharr, was earning $10.50 an hour working…
When you learn, teach. When you get, give. ~Maya Angelou Weslaco native Gilda Lee Sauceda grew up with a single mom who became disabled when her daughter was just 10 years old. She felt grateful that they had a roof over their head and their basic necessities, but the struggles were real. The labels were there — eighth-grade drop-out, GED holder, low-income — but Sauceda did not allow labels to…
When McAllen resident Maria Delgado first applied to the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement in 2012 after learning about it from an outreach counselor at South Texas College, the VIDA staff knew she was an excellent candidate. Delgado was a single mother with two daughters, ages 11 and 5, unemployed and on public assistance and a first-generation college student. She served in the National Guard for two-and-a-half years. But…
Rosalinda Castillo had her sights on her goal of becoming a registered nurse but she also saw the hurdles she would have to face to get there. “There are many people with bright minds out there who do not have the financial means to study a career they wish to fulfill,” Castillo said. She understood full-time students best meet the demands of the nursing program at South Texas College, but…
Adela Tann had her future all figured out. She completed the Patient Care Technician program at South Texas College in 2013 and enrolled in the college’s Vocational Nursing program, graduating in 2015. Next on her list was earning the title of registered nurse. But before she could pass the National Council Licensure Examination, Tann moved to Iowa to help care for her sister, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In…
Jorge Sanchez thought he had the perfect plan in place after graduating from high school. He earned a scholarship to St. Edward’s University in Austin, where he planned to major in biology with a concentration in biological sciences. But as he calculated the cost for tuition, room and board, and books, Sanchez realized this plan did not make financial sense. “Even though I was given a scholarship to study at…
When the staff at Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement think of Eva Alvarado, two words come to mind: perseverance and resilience. Alvarado is a divorced mother of three, two who are adults and now live on their own. Her youngest, a 14-year-old son, lives with her in Brownsville. Two years ago, her youngest was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, dyslexia and autism. Alvarado quit working because he required all…
When Jose Cavazos’s co-worker at Barcom Technology Services in Harlingen told him they had a service call at the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement office in Mercedes, he felt a sense of both nostalgia and excitement. Cavazos had considered stopping in VIDA’s former office in Weslaco several times, but it was always closed by the time he got out of work. “As soon as we walked into the building,”…
Sometimes life plunges us into a classic catch-22. That is exactly where Cesar Romero found himself. Working as a nurse technician, Romero was earning $11 an hour. In order to increase his income, he applied to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Learning that the program required full-time-student status peppered his joy at being accepted. He could not afford to pay…
The Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement is the recipient of a $75,000 grant from the Meadows Foundation. The funds will train low-income women in high-demand jobs. Algur H. Meadows established General American Oil Company of Texas in 1939. He then led it to become one of the nation’s most successful independent oil-and-gas-production companies. Meadows and his wife, Virginia, returned their blessings by establishing The Meadows Foundation in 1948. The…